Cloth-cutting machine



Fella. 11923.. 11,44, M. BRETH CLOTH CUTTING MACHINE Filed De c. 24, l921' 5 sheets-sheet].

Feb. 21), W23. 1,4%,%2U

M. BRETH CLOTH CUTTING MACHINE Filed'Dec 24, 1921 5 sheebs sheen 2 A TTORIVE Y wb. 2%, W231. M Md M. BlRETH CLOTH CUTTING MACHINE Filed Deg. 24, 1921 5 sheets-sheeb a j'lli Patented lFch. 2b, lQEB.

arnimitiLL in Bastian, or new some n. Y.

ono'rn-cnrriiienincnmn Application f led December 24,1921. Serial No. 524,714..

Be it known that I, MAXIMILIAN Bnn'ri-i, a citizen of the United statesy residing at the city o l? New York, borough of lliianhattan. in the county of New York and iritate of: New York, have in ented certain new and useful Improvements in Clotl'i-(Jutting lilachines of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to cloth cutting machines of the general type intended for operating); upon a multiplicity of plies or layers of cloth oi? considerable depth. such. as the practice on the cutting tables of iiianu'lactul"" stablishinents.

Among; the objects of this invention is to provide a machine which for general purposes is adaptedlm. universal cutting operations ores a substitute for the more complicated inachines commonly usedheretofore in the cutting of a pile of cloth following a pat tern, but being particularly adapted for out i ting slits or the liliein a pile of cloth at such places where itis not feasible to use a cutting machine which is dependent upon the entry oi the cloth from an edge or the outside of the pattern. In other words this cutting niachine is designed and adapted for the cutting of slits of any suitable length or form within a pattern, the beginning oi the slit or the entry of the pile oi? cloth resulting from the direct thrust through the cloth ot a dagger-like blade or its equivalent.

A futher object of my invention is to provide a power operated machine of a relativelysilnple mechanical nature and one which maybe controlled with ease and precision while being operated in any desired directionfand irrespective of the starting point on or along the pile of cloth.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cutting machine, the cutting element of which a reciprocating blade and with. which cooperates a seli sharpening device-which niay beoperated at any time for the sharpehin i blade is being; operated in the normal manner for cutting the cloth, so that not only may the sharpening operation be performed without loss of time ot the machine, but the determined with precision according to the] degree of sharpening-of the blade may be cutting action observed upontheparticular pile of cloth under 'observatlon' at the time, it being obvious that the result oreftect of thesliarpeniiig "may be noticeable while the of the blade while the cutting machine is being operated for its usual purpose.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a means, constituting a part of the mechanism, for coordinating the adjust ment of the niachine as to the depth of the cut oi": the blade in direct accordance with the depth of the pile of cloth.

With theforegoing and other objects in view the inventionconsists in the arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed, and while the invention is not res-itrictcd to the exact details of construction disclosed or suggested herein, still for the purpose oi"; illustrating a. practical ei'nl'iodiment thereoil reference is had to the accompanying drawings. in which like reference characters designate the same parts in the several views and in which- Figure 1 is a view of the left side of the machine, mainly in elevation, but with. parts broken away to show details.

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation, parts being in section. i 1

Fig. 3 is ii horizontal section on the line" 3? of Fig. 1. Y

Fig. 4t is a vertical sectional detail on the line l -4i of Fig. 3.

l 5 is a vertical section on the line 5-5 of Fig. '8.

l ig. 6 is a horizontal section on the line 6-6 of'Fig.

Fig. 7 is 7- -7 of Fig. 3.

lleterringrnow more specifically to the drawings, 10 indicates a of a substantially rectangular piece of flat metal fixed upon the upper suriaceot pair of spaced parallel runner 11. These runners are made preferably of strips flat nietalbut havingtheir endsupturned slightly at 11 to facilitate the iilO'VQniGi'lt of the machine over the work. i i

Fixed to and extending upward from the base 11 are two uprights or standards 12 and 13 indicated. asheing' made of round tubular metal and eaclrpro vided along its face adjaeent to the opposite standard with a vertical slot i l extending practically ;up to the upper end thereof. Wi ithin each standardis' located a. counterbalance device. shown as an expansion coil spring 15, v The upperend of each standard closed andreinforeedbv ineans ot a. cap 16 threaded thereto; The; standard '12 is providence its rear ce was:

' brace and are fixed to the standards not far above the base.

In a carrier 22 of any suitable construction, but indicated as of annular form, is

hung or located a motor if having a horizontal forwardly extending shaft 23 journaled in bearings 24. The feed wires lead to the motor from any suitable source and with which co-operates a switch 26 within convenient reach of the operators hand on the handle 27 supported above the ct rrier or motor by means of arms 28 and 29. The latter arm may carry a switch box 30 for the attachment of a lamp, not shown, which may be used if desired for illuminating the work. Extending laterally and downward from each side of the carrier 22 is a plunger 31 slidable within the adjacent standard and whose lower end bears against the spring 15 therein. Each plunger is connected to the main portion of the carrier through a neck portion 32 which slides along the slot 14 and which by contact with the cap 16 limits the upward movement of the motor and parts associated therewith. The force of the springs 15 is so designed as to substantially lift and support the carrier, holding it up when the machine is not in operation, but the carrier and motor parts are adapted to be forced downward along the standards by pressure of one hand of the operator on the handle 27 so far as may be permitted by the collar 18. The springs 15 are long enough so that the force thereof is substantially uniform throughout the range of movement of the plungers.

The cutting element is a straight blade 33 having a sharp point 34 at its lower end and a sharp forward edge 35. The blade is attached at its upper end at 36 to a slide 37 guided for reciprocating movement up and down in upper and lower guides 38 and 39 fixed to and constituting a part of the motor frame or carrier. Attached to the front portion of the motor is a hood l0 which substantially incloses all of the working parts of the motor except the slide. The upper end of the slide projects through a hole 4-1 in the hood and is provided with an oil duct 42 which may be filled with any suitable lubricant at the upper end at 43. e

To the motor shaft 23 is attached a crank 44 having a wrist pin 45 upon which is hunga link 46, through a ball bearing 47. The lower end of the linlris connected to the by a pin 48 extending rearwari from the slide. The slide is offset at its lower end so that the wrist pin and link ('(HIIIQCtiOIIS lie in a field direct y in line with the blade for the most effective thrust. lVithout meaning to be limited in any manner as to the scope of the invention, it may be observed that this machine is best adapted for reciprocutions of the slide and blade of about one inch with respect to the motor frame or :urrier. but while the motor carrier is arranged for movement up and down along the standards 12 and 13 the reciprocations of the blade are independent of such movement along the standards.

The blade is arranged for movement along suitable guide members so as to stiilen or reinforce the cutting end thereof, auxiliary to the guides 38 and 39. For this purpose I provide a pair of guide rollers -19 and to journaled on the opposite sides of the point portion of the blade and having direct rolling contact with the sides of the blade whereby the blade is held from lateral deflection. These rollers are ournaled in. corresponding brackets 49 and 50 fixed to the base but spaced slightly above the base. The roller sit) is provided with a flange 51, at its rear end against which the rear edge of the blade has bearing, and the other roller has a flange. 52 which cooperates with a groove 5?) formed in the left side of the blade. Thus the blade is guided or stiffened for movement laterally in any direction but is free for vertical reciprocations.

The front or throat portion of the base 10 is notched or slotted at 54: to 'accon'nnodate the blade as it is operated therethrough in practice, and co-operating directly beneath this throat 54 is a presscr foot 55 in the na ture of a flat plate having a slot 56 registering with the throat 54-. The presser foot has connected to it one or more pins 57 extending upward from the base 10 and surrounding each of which is a coil spring 5H tending to force the presser foot downward as far as permitted by the head of the. pin or pins. This presser foot is designed to i'naintain the upper surface of the pile of cloth (I in a smooth condition. The front portion of the presser foot has a guide rod 9 conne ted thereto and. extended upward through a guide 60 connected to the front face of the hood l-O, whereby the presser foot will be held from lateral displacement. and the sharp edge of the blade guarded.

indicates a g .ge carried upon the front portion oi: the ruiuiers 11. This gage in- (hides a rod (")2 haying graduation uiurlvs theremi. the zero of which is at the le t end of the rod. the graduation marks corre spending in character to those extending downward along the standard 1). The rod 62 is held normally in keeper (33 on the right hand runner, but is slidable through a guide Get hinged at the left edge of the left hand runner whereby when the rod is de lllll tached from the keeper 63 it maybe swung.

upward causing the zero end of the rod to pro ect downward below the plane of the machine. After thecloth is piled to any desired depth on the cutting table, say six as for example in inches. The operator then brings the gage to its nested position as shown 111 Fig. 3 and sets thecollar 18 downward along the standard 12 to a distance exactly equal to theascertained depth of the pile of cloth, locking the collar by the screw 19 or its equivalent. I prefer also to arrange a similar scale on one side'of the blade In Fig. 1 I indicate a mat comprising a sheet 65' of any suitable soft nonanetallic material such as cork compositlon, sponge rubber. or the like, which by means of a frame 66 and base panel 66' may be slipped beneath the pile of cloth directly below the pattern or field of operation of the machine, whereby suflicient depth is. provided be tween the lowermost ply of cloth and the surface of the table to enable the cutting blade 33 to perform its work without damage either to its own cutting edge or point or the cutting table. In other words the pointof the blade may enter the mat on each downwarc l reciprocationa-nd thereby make a clean cut through all of the plies of cloth. l r y After the machine has been. adjusted as above described in accordance with the depth of the pile ofcloth it will be lifted into place so that the notch-or throat 1 of the machine will register with the beginning of the pattern to be cut, whether it be gently uponthe handle 2i causing theniotor at the side or edge of the pile or anywhere within the body thereof, and then the oper-' atorholding the handle 20 with one hand and. grasping the handleQZ with his other hand will start the motor byshifting the switch 26. The blade then will reciprocate rapidly with its point directed toward the beginning of the cut as above stated. The operator then. will force downward to move downward and while the motor is T thus moved downward. the blade will penetrate the pile of cloth to thedepth limited by the-position of the'eollar 18. 'Be ause the blade is reciprocatedso rapidly andfis maintained perfectly sharp such penetration ofithe" "blade 'is initiallyeffe'cted quickly. The motor andparts connected thereto may;

behelddownward by hand. if desired but I prefer to employ an automatic positive holding-ineans for this purposeso' that the operator will be relieved from the necessity The depth of the pile will then be'directly readableonthe rod 62 fill of holdingthe motor down while in opera tion, thus giving the operator the better control of the guiding of the machine over the work. The'means indicated for holdingthe machine to its work includes a vertical rack 67 relatively close to the standaid 13 and parallel thereto. This rack is jonrnaled at itsupper end in a lug 68 extending forward from the cap 16, and at its lower end in; the base whereby it is adapted to be moved around its vertical axis through about 90. 70 is a bell crank lever pivotedat 71 on the fork 21, one end thereof being located adjacent to the operators thumb of the hand on the handle and havingits other end projected forward past the rack having communication therewith through a link 72 and an arm 73, the latter being fixed to and extending forward from the rack. A spring 7% is attached to the lever and acts normally to hold the forward end of the lever against the standard, 13, whereby the rack will be held in a predetermined position. The rack has a vertical series of teeth 75 which will register with a spring pressed dog 75 extending forward from the front side of a knuckle 77 fixed to the plunger 31 by means of a pin 78 extending through the slot 14 of the standard 13 which is embraced by the knuckle. The teeth 75 are so directed downward that the dog will not engage therewith to resist the downward movement of the motor and cutting device, but by virtue to swingto the right as in Fig. 3 with a cor responding rotation of the rack, causing au tomatically the dogto be forced out of engagement wlth lts toot-h, and thus the motor and blade will be free to be lifted by the springs 15. Thus the machine will be free to be lifted at the handle '27 to another field of operation or be set aside until. it is again to be used.

lfnthesp ace 79 between the bearings for the'rollers li) and 50 and the base 10, are

located. a pair of sharpening or whetting members, such as sticks 80 of carborunduin or other equivalent substances. Each of these sticks 1s heldni a socket 81 on one slde of the blade and so pivoted at 82 on-thebase 10 as to be caused to swing inward against the SH-l6 of thecuttingedge 35. The socketmembers are articulated together at 83 and to this point is attached at 84 a link 85 whose rearendis pivoted tothe lowerend of a bellcrank 86 pivoted ch87 in a vertical plane beneath the forklZlr. fingering 88 acts upon the link'85 to hold it urgedforward,

causing the stick holders Si to spread apart or away from the opposite sides of the blade, as shown in Fig. The operator however at any time while the blade is reciprocating may, by reaching downward below the handle E20 and grasping the finger end of the bell. crank 86 and pulling upward thereon, cause the link 85 to be drawn rearward, throwing the sharpening sticks 80 against the sides of the blade, one in a plane above the other, and thereby the blade will be self sharpened due to its own reeiprocations. The operator may note by the behavior of theknite along its out, according to the tentureor character of the goods. when it is sutficien'tly sharpened and then he will release the lever 86 and permit the sharpening sticks to swing back to normal position. These sticks are so arranged as to be useful as on one face and then on each oi the remaining faces oi the same end by simply slipping them out of the sockets and turning them around the longitudinal axis, and after all faces of one end have been used the sticks may be turned end to end and used as many more times before they need be discarded. A leaf spring 89, as shown in Fig. 7, may be attached to each. socket member 81 and have frictional bearing through a hole 90 against one face of the stick to prevent any tendency of the vibration of the machine to loosen the stick from its socket.

I claim:

1. In a cloth cutting machine, a reciprocating blade having a sharp point and a sharp edge, means to cause the blade to reciprocate at an angle to the pile of cloth, and means to control the position of the blade independent of the reciprocations,

whereby the blade may be caused to be thrust through the pile of cloth at any desired point within the same remote -from the edges of the pile.

- .3. in cletlrcutting machine. a reciprocating blade having a sharp point and a sharp edge, means to cause the blade to reciprocate at an angle to the pile of cloth, and means to control the position of the blade independent of the reciprocations, whereby the blade may be caused to he thrust through the pile oft-cloth at any desired point within. the same and subsequently to follow a pattern while the blade continues to reciprocate.

A machine set forth in claim 2 in which means is provided to guide and stiffen the otherwise free cutting end of the blade while in operation.

4. A device as set forth in claim 2 in which anti-trfiction rollers are arranged to co-operate with the rear andside portions of the blade to hold it from lateral movementin any direction but permit tree reciprocations there-oi. through the pile of cloth.

5. A device as set forth in claim 2 in which the blade is provided with a longitudinal groove along one. side and anti-friction. sup porting means is provided for the cutting end of the blade and having a member coacting with said groove.

6. In a cloth cutting machine, the combination with a base movable over the cloth to be cut, rigid supporting and guiding means fixed to the base and extending upward therefrom, cutting mechanism supported upon and movable as a whole up and down said supporting means and including a cutting element movable through the cloth as a result of the downward movement as aforesaid, and means under the control of the operator to control the elevation of the cutting means with respect to said supporting and guiding means.

7. A device as set Forth in claim 6 in which the guiding means comprises a pair of parallel standards and the cutting mechanism movable therealoi'ig includes members cooperating respectively with said stamlard resilient means acting between the stamlards and the cutting mechanism tending to hold the latter in a predetermined position, against the force of which the cutting mechanism may be moved by hand, and means to limit the movement of the cutting means along the standards.

8. A device as set forth in claim (l in which the supporting and guiding means is provided with a graduated scale and a stop member adjustable therealong and the machine is provided with means For ]l].21S\l1ll1 .I accurately the depth of the cloth for determiningthe position of adjustment of said stop member.

9. A. device as set forth in claim 6 in which the cutting means includes a reciprocating blade movable downward through the cloth beginning at any desired point in the pile of cloth toward the cutting tabl and the supporting and. guiding means is provided with a. graduated s tale and a stop member co-acting therewith. and, means to preliminarily determine the depth of the pile of cloth in order to adjust the stop member according to the length oi the cutting blade to be made effective beneath the base of the machine.

10. A device as set forth in claim (3 in which the supportin means comprises a pair of vertical tubular members each having a guide slot along its side toward the opposite member, while the cutting mechanism movable therealongincludes a pair of plungers movable longitudinally within the tubular members and having neck portions projected through and slidable along the slots aforesaid. and spring means co-operating with the plungers tor moving thesame along the tubular members in one direction.

ii. In a cloth cutting machine. the combination of a base, a pair of upright stand- 1,4a5,sao

ards fixed thereto a motor, a carrier for the motor guided for movement up and down along said standards, a cutting blade to re oi? the blade 12. A device as set forth in claim 11 in whlch the standards are tubular and each is provided with an open slot on the side adjacent to the opposite standard while the motor carrier is provided with a pair of plungers projected into and slidable along the tubular members through said slots, a coil spring in each standard tending to move the carrier in one direction, means adjust able with respect to the standards according to the depth of the pile of cloth being operated upon to limit the movement of the carrier along the standards, and means under the control of the operator to control the operation of the cutting member.

18. In a cloth cutting machine, a base movable over the cloth, upright supporting and guiding means fixed thereto, a. motor, a carrier for the motor guided for movement along the supporting means, a cutting member associated with the motor and operated therefrom and movable therewith as a whole toward. and through the pile ofclo-th, means tending to hold the motor carrier in one extreme position while the carrier is moved in the other direction by the hand of the operator, and means acting to resist the action of the aforesaid holding means.

14. A machine as set forth. in claim 13 in which the holding means acting upon the motor carrier tends to hold it elevated while the resisting means servesto hold the carrier and. cutting means down to its work.

15. A device as set forth in claim 13 in which the holding means comprises a spring tending to keep the cutting means elevated and positive means is provided acting to hold the cutting means down into its work against the force of the spring means aforesaid, and means is provided under the control. of the operators hand to release said positive means to allow the spring means to lift the cutting means. i

16. In a cloth cutting machine, a base movable over the cloth, rigid upright means fixed to the base, a motor, cutting means carried by and actuated from the motor, a carrier for the motor supported by and movable along the upright means, means to move the carrier and motor along the upright means independently of the actuations of the cut-.

ting means, positive means to hold the carrier and motor in cutting position relative to the pile oi cloth, and hand controlled means to release said positive means: when the cutting operation is ended.

17. In a cloth cutting machine, the co1nbination of a cutting member, means to actuate the cutting member to cause the same to pierce through the cloth any desired point remote from the edges, and means to keep the cutting member sharp while in operative relation with thecloth to a degree of sharpness determined by the character or quality of the goods being cut.

18. A machine as set forth in claim 17 in which the cutting member is a reciprocating bladeand the means for keeping it sharp while in action includes whetting members movable toward the opposite sides of the cutting edge coincident with the normal cutting operation of the machine.

19. A cloth cutting machine comprising a base supportable upon the top of the cloth, a blade, means to reciprocate the blade relatively to the base, a presser foot beneath the base, and means to control the position of the presser foot.

20. A device as set forth in claim 25 in which the means to control the presser foot includes a guard for the sharp edge of the blade. F r

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature MAXIMILIAN BRETH. 

